Instinctive Behavior
by Gimpyslair
Summary: Miroku and Sango have an interesting discussion about what the future hold for them. The story take place after the Mirosan moment of chapter 411. Fluff warning, oneshot.


**Instinctive Behavior**

**Disclaimer :** All Inuyasha's characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. The first lines in italic are a translation from Ear-Tweak, of the manga's chapter 411.  
**Note:** The story takes place after chapter 411, after Miroku and Sango's moment. So there are a couple of spoilers about this chapter and other ones that are a Mirosan centric.

_- What are you doing?  
__- I was wondering if Shippo had transformed.  
__- I'm happy you're the real thing.  
__- You…_

A strange moment it was, indeed. Strange, but interesting, very interesting. The couple was sitting on the grass when the fox demon and the old miko finally decided to give them some intimacy: after all, how many time do they have a moment alone, together, without the curious eyes of their companions? Not very often considering the excited matchmaker that is Kagome, with the complicity that is young Shippo and the exasperation that is Inuyasha.

But, back to the lovebirds by the river: neither of them exchanged a word or a glance. To the right, Miroku, a lying, lecherous, cursed and charming monk, was amused by the strange behavior of his fiancée. To the left, Sango, a beautiful, shy, sad, angsty, demon-slayer, was cursing herself for the lack of control she revealed by acting like her beloved to the right.

Let's go back to the moment before: Sango, anxious about the life of Kohaku, received comfort by the sweet and kind Miroku. To make sure that it was not a dream or another one of Shippo's illusions, the taijiya touched the monk on a familiar place, but in an unexpected reversal-role. In other words, Sango groped Miroku, using the excuse that she was looking for the fox demon's tail.

This was somewhat awkward for Sango.

"I enjoy this." Miroku pulled Sango out of her reveries. She turned toward him and saw that he was looking at the river. He was smiling and seemed peaceful. His dark hair was floating in the air and in his face. Sango blushed at his words. Was he talking about the surprise of her hands on him? Unlike the demon-slayer, he certainly didn't have any sort of problem in confessing this. Just thinking about that moment made her blush.

Miroku had been chasing her since she joined the group. Part of his body never had control when it was around her, having a mind of its own. However, all those unrestrained caresses had always been responded to with a painful touch on his cheek. But since they had been engaged, after they had resolved the mystery of the women's village, the taijiya didn't seem to mind the monk's lecherous behavior as long as it was directed only at her. In fact, she even began to like his wandering hands. As odd as it sounded, it reminded her that he is beside her, with her… She also _really_ liked the warm and fuzzy feeling it produced in her body when she felt his caress. It took Sango a long time to realize this and twice the time to accept it.

But today was different. It wasn't Miroku who lost control of his hand, but the beautiful and proud Sango. She wasn't proud of herself. After all, he was the perverted one and she was supposed to be the angry one.

But she couldn't help it. He was so cute and charming to her that she did the most instinctive thing: she leveled her right arm toward her fiancé's back and stroked his bottom. It was a nice feeling. She actually enjoyed it. Plus, he was well shaped and round.

What's shocked her the most was that she did it so casually. She didn't even realize what she was doing and before she knew it, she was feeling the fabric of his kesa. When she did realize what she was doing, she didn't even flush or get embarrassed. As for Miroku, she could have sworn that she felt him tense up, probably because of the surprising approach, but he relaxed right away, simply asking her what was she doing.

The question would have been more interesting if it would have been: Why did she grope him? Sango was still trying to figure that out. Was it to thank him for comforting her? Was it because it was an inside-joke? Was it sarcasm? Was it because she secretly wanted to? Sango had given the excuse that it was for making sure he wasn't Shippo transformed as Miroku. She knew that he didn't believe her, but she said it anyway to defend herself.

Sango looked away from him, afraid of where this was leading. "What do you mean by that?" she asked, hesitant and still blushing.

Miroku changed his sitting position, moving closer to the girl by his side, but trying not to make the approach apparent. His weight was supported on his arms behind him. "I enjoy all those moments of tranquility together when we aren't fighting demons or having an encounter with Naraku," he answered, smiling.

_Oh_, thought Sango. He wasn't talking about her hands. She relaxed and nodded, although she didn't look at him. However, Miroku carried on. "This place's harmony, life's simplicity… It makes me imagine about how life will look like…"

Sango knew what he was talking about... She suddenly turned her head, gazed directly into the monk's eyes and completed his sentence "… after Naraku." It was about the future.

She didn't realize right away that while she was saying this she had slid her hand into Miroku's. They stayed a moment like this, hands clasped. Their faces were full of hope, thinking about the promise of a life together. The monk was massaging her palm with his thumb, making Sango shiver and feel little butterflies inside her stomach.

She then released her grip on him and cuddled next to Miroku, moving her arm around his waist. He did the same, bringing Sango closer to him, his left hand also on her waist and leaning his head over her own. He didn't mind the change of the sitting position at all. How many times did they hold each other like this? Sure there are those little moments on Kirara where he would move a little closer to Sango's back, getting a stronger grip around her. This usually happened after they had an encounter with Kohaku to silently give a reassurance that he was still with her. It also take place when he was the one who needed a human contact, when he was worried about the expansion of his kazaana. She hadn't rejected those personal and secret contacts for two moons… But except for those few instants, they never really had the chance to enjoy each other's company alone.

Sango suddenly sighed. Miroku lowered his head and looked at her. She looked depressed. "What is it?" he murmured.

"I can't help but think about what would happen if we don't succeed in our quest." She felt the monk tighten the grip around her. Sango wasn't as shy as before when it came to talking to him about her feelings. After all the times that Miroku had comforted her, or Sango had taken care of him when he was poisoned by Saimyoushou, or worrying about each other's safety, the trust and the love they had towards each other was growing into something strong. They were getting comfortable with each other. She kept going, swallowing, "All those dreams we want to fulfill, our plan, our promise... I don't want this to be a false hope. I want it to be realized. I want this to be real."

She lifted her head to look into his dark violet eyes.

"I really want to spend my life with you, Houshi-Sama." She stopped and rapidly turned her head toward her feet. She felt stupid. Of course he knew that or else she wouldn't have agreed to bear his child. She felt heat on her cheeks and she was blushing, as if it couldn't get worse.

However, Miroku didn't seem to mind. In fact he was grinning. He hadn't expected that kind of confession. How could he have known that a conversation about Kohaku would lead to a talk about the possible future together. They hardly ever discussed it and he didn't really know why. Maybe it was the fear that they could die before it happened, which it would definitely hurt. Or maybe it was because they were just too shy to bring up the subject.

But that didn't seem to matter now. Simply knowing that Sango truly want to settle down with him as husband and wife and live a life together was enough to make his heart bump at 10 times the normal speed. It was a confirmation that it wasn't just some kind of agreement that was made because she was desperate or because she knew that she might not live long enough to have to go through with it. It was a proof that their promise truly came from the heart and not from the situation.

Miroku brushed some falling hair away from Sango's face. "And so do I. I can't wait for the day I won't have to worry about the Kazaana, when Naraku will be dead, and your brother free from his terror. We… we will finally be able to get married." He paused and grinned to himself: Sango's head was now on his shoulder, eyes closed, but he could tell that she was still listening to him. Good, because he felt like talking to her. "All of our friends will be happy for us and they will all be present on that day: Kohaku, Inuyasha, Kagome, Shippo, Kaede, Hachi…"

He stopped, looked down at her, then continued. "We could marry in Kaede's village, beside the sakura tree. Chichiue told me that when he proposed to my mother, he gave her sakura flowers. There was also a time I saw you under that tree, when you were about to meet Kaede-sama, if I'm correct. You were praying and Kirara was asleep beside you. It was then I realized that you were the most beautiful women I'd ever seen..."

Sango smiled shyly.

"I would like Mushin-sama to be our priest, if you don't mind. He raised me and taught me all the ways of being a monk. I will personally make sure that he won't get drunk…"

Eyes still closed, she replied, "I don't mind at all." Miroku nodded, even though he knew she didn't see him.

"After the celebration, we could finally settle down, you and me, along with your brother, until he's old enough to take care of himself. We could build a house on a shrine…"  
"Or stay in my village," Sango murmured softly. The monk smiled at her, glad to see that she was also part of the conversation.  
"Or stay in your village, rebuild it and repopulate it with as many children as there were taijiya before its destruction."

She chuckled at this and looked up at him, unimpressed. The monk did an exaggerated facial expression of indignation and put his hand on his chest. "What? You don't believe me?"

Sango mumbled something that must have been 'pervert', but responded anyway, "Let's begin with 5."

Miroku gasped in a fake horror, as if it was the most outrageous thing she ever said. She giggled.

"I say 25," he defied.  
"How about 10?" she answered, getting into his game.  
"Not enough, 20."  
"15 to begin with, we will see later."

Miroku smirked playfully "Fine, we shall begin with 15 children. You and Kohaku will teach most of them how to fight as real taijiya with the hope they won't have to use it as often as we do now. I will teach the other ones to how to be a servant of Buddha and the best ways to have a wealthy room in a hotel…"

He stopped himself at Sango's disgusted look. "…But I will take in consideration that the use the shakujo's and ofuda's powers are more important." She glanced at him, trying to contain the smile that was forming at the corners of her lips. But as soon as she met his eyes, she began to laugh and he joined her.

Afterward, the laugh died off and was replaced by silence. They sighed in unison. Sango was the first to open her mouth.

"Maybe we shouldn't talk about it… In case it gives us false hopes in the end…" she said that in a melancholic and sad voice. Just to contradict her own words, she cuddle even closer to him, as if she was afraid he would go away.

He absently played with her hair. "I see it another way: It gives us something to fight for, a reason to keep continue our path. The mere thought of it gives me strength to when we encounter Naraku or Mouryoumaru. I won't let our dreams die at the hands of those demons. Never."

He said all of this with a great determination and at the same time, with a soft and comforting voice. Sango listened carefully to what he said, but couldn't find the right words with which to respond. She had a million things passing through her head. So, for the second time that day, she gave the most instinctive and unpredictable response she could give: she leveled her head toward her lecherous monk, moved her lips towards his left cheek and gave him a simple, quick, but significant peck.

Without letting time for the monk to react, she took his hand, intertwined his fingers with hers and leaned her head onto his shoulder. Both of them were lost in their own world. They thought about the future, about 15 little boys and girls running around, about the present, and about the conversation they just had. But firstly, they thought about their relationship.

'She kissed me.'  
'He is blushing.'

**The end**

**Author's notes:** Special thanks for Starzki, for helping me to correct this story and Ninalee-Chan for giving me the idea of getting someone to help me to correct my stories .  
Anyway, I always find that chapter 411 was the sweetest chapter in Mirosan history (except maybe the proposal moment). I always wanted to read a fanfiction about this one, but I never saw one, sadly. I don't think there's much OOCness in this story.  
Positive and constructive reviews are my best friends, as long as it's not flames.


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